Landscape Embroideries

It's been a very busy week. Between a hectic work week and getting ready for Christmas, I confess I haven't stitched at all. But my vacation begins tonight! And over the next ten days, I plan to have many loooong, delightful stitching sessions.

For today, though, I thought I would post about two pieces I finished years ago but that still hold a special place in my heart. About six or seven years ago, I decided to try stitching landscape embroideries — specifically, charming British cottages. There's something so homey and comforting about a lovely little cottage set in the British countryside. When I go to my happy place, it's typically this sort of peaceful, sylvan setting (that, or a warm tropical beach 😉). 

The first cottage I ever stitched was the Tu Hwnt i'r Bont tea room in Wales. I used a picture I found in a magazine as my inspiration and guide for colors, I sketched a general outline on the fabric, and then I just figured out the stitches as I went:

I finished this in October 2014, and there are definitely some issues with this piece — it has some puckering, the sides aren't quite even, and I don't think the border is very successful. Additionally, the shading has some flaws because I was just learning to do it, the cottage lacks definition against the trees, and I wish I had stitched in some sky behind the trees because they don't quite cover up the fabric in the center. But for all that, I still feel terribly fond of the river, the cottage, the grass, and the trees.

I finished this before I knew that you could stretch the fabric when it was framed. So I simply hemmed the edges before I took it in for framing, and all they could really do was tack it down to the background. Still, I think it turned out nice enough, given that I was figuring out all this as I went:.

The next landscape embroidery cottage I did was Bow Cottage in Selworthy Green, Somerset (it's like the eighth picture down on the page):

I completed this one in December 2017, and it still had some issues with puckering, uneven edges, and a not wholly successful border. But my shading had improved, I stitched the sky in this one, and the cottage stands out from the background a little better. Moreover, I didn't cut this one out and turn under the edges, so the framer was able to stretch it a bit for mounting:

Unfortunately, because it puckered a lot during stitching, they couldn't get it entirely smooth, so you can see the gathers in fabric around the border of the piece. I still think it stands out nicely in the frame, though, and I hope the piece draws the eye enough that most people probably won't focus on the fabric puckers.

Since then, I've learned to get my fabric completely taut during stitching and to stretch, lace, and mount my own work for framing, so my pieces typically turn out more professionally nowadays. But I like to look back on these earlier pieces where I was still learning all the stitches and techniques. As imperfect as they are, they're part of my embroidery journey, and I feel proud that I did as well as I did figuring things out on my own.

As we near the end of another year, it's nice to reflect back on how far I've come. 2020 has been a dark year in many ways, but my stitching has improved so much with all the extra time I've spent on it. And the projects I've worked on this year have given me so much joy and peace. They've made a tough time a lot more bearable.

I'm excited to get stitching again now that I have some free time. I'll try to post some updates on my progress sometime next week. In the meantime, wishing everyone a merry Christmas and happy holidays all around. I hope you'll get to see or talk to someone you love, have something special to eat, and enjoy a little peaceful stitching time.